His Southern Sweetheart

Nate’s laugh reverberated off the interior of the car. “Thanks for making me feel sleazy.”

After a quick tug of her hand from his, Amelia playfully swatted his chest. “Shut up. That’s not what I meant.”

“I know.” Nate recaptured her hand and kissed her fingertips. “You want forty hours of work from me and you’ll get it.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore, Nate.” She sighed.

“Why not?”

“Because we’ve crossed a line between us, and now what will everyone think?”

“What line? Between employee and employer?” he guessed. “This is ridiculous. What do we care whatever anyone else thinks? Who’s going to know?”

“What about the last time something like this happened between us?”

“Do you regret it?” he asked of her.

For a heartbeat she waited to answer. A strange vise tightened around Nate’s heart until she spoke. “Look where I ended up.”

“You mean, back in your hometown with me as your most prized possession?” Nate teased and tugged on her hand in preparation of her trying to pull away. “How ’bout I finish the work at your grandmother’s house and then we can talk about us?”

“What us, Nate?” She pulled her hand away again and succeeded.

“Why not an us?” he asked, not sure if he truly heard the words coming out of his mouth. “It’s not like you have a job to rush back to. Stay here in Southwood and at least see where we can go.”

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Amelia stifled a laugh, covering the mouth he’d kissed, and glanced out the window. “Go where?”

“Emily’s wedding, for starters.”

“Even if I wanted to,” Amelia groaned, “I didn’t bring any sort of wedding attire.”

Glad she was beginning to warm up to his idea, Nate smiled. “Well, I have the perfect person for you to meet. You may already know her, she’s from here.”

Amelia turned fully toward him. “Who?”

With the way her voice went up in question, Nate wanted to learn more about what made Amelia so distrustful toward the residents of Southwood. She told him the people had turned on her and her family, but he’d never understood how. So far everyone they ran into acted like they missed Amelia. Everyone had accepted him and Stephen—well, at least him—so easily. “My future sister-in-law, Lexi Pendergrass.”

“I didn’t know her personally. She went to a different school,” said Amelia, the corners of her mouth turning downward. “My parents knew hers. Of course everyone knows her parents.”

He didn’t miss the way Amelia rolled her eyes. Then again, Lexi did the same thing whenever someone brought up her parents. “I wonder what time it is. We can probably go back and see her at her shop.”

“What shop?”

“Grits and Glam Gowns,” Nate said proudly. “She has all kinds of froufrou dresses you might like.”

Amelia frowned. “I don’t do froufrou and it’s about four-thirty.”

Nate sat up and turned the engine on. The blue lights indicated the time and Amelia’s correctness. He glanced over and caught her smug smile. “Hey,” she said, sitting up and readjusting her top, “that’s how it is in the summer. Always carry an umbrella.”

“I’m a man, Amelia.” He gave a sideways grin and began backing out of the cut. “I always carry protection.”

* * *

Monday afternoon’s shower halted any of the outside work Nate planned on doing that evening. But he continued clocking in his hours by helping her move the heavy things downstairs to her grandmamma’s new room. By the time they completed their project, they were too tired to move.

Tuesday morning, Amelia woke up on one section of the L-shaped couch in the TV room, lying against Nate’s broad chest while he stretched out on the other half. His soft snoring soothed her. A heavy arm draped protectively around her and his fingers spanned against her hips. Black stubble was sprinkled across his chiseled cheeks.